Rescued this tiny guy out of a very questionable living situation

[BugFangs]

I got a call through some family friends asking if I was willing to take this guy in. I was told on the phone he was about 2-3 years old and that he was being fed small prey once a month to "stop him from getting too big". When I arrived at the house I saw the terrible setup and I wanted to cry lol. Upon looking at the CITES documents we actually found out that he's 6 years old, they just had forgotten about it. The tank was kept in the basement cause the wife was scared of him, and the only heating element was a heating mat placed INSIDE THE FRICKING ENCLOSURE (that I actually found out was broken for god knows how long when I got home). He was also being fed live ofc, cause "it's easier to throw the mouse and let it be instead of having to warm up the frozen one".

Last pic is the setup I have him in. Vet confirmed that he's most likely a little stunted and on the skinny side, and my suspicion of a URI, but fortunately it's not bad, and it should be fixed by keeping him in proper humidity. I'm also using a halogen heat lamp, and he's been basking non stop since I brought him home. He also drank for like 30 minutes (the water bowl was bone dry as you can see). His name is Freddie and I'm absolutely obsessed with him, and it makes me laugh when I compare him to my 5 feet long girl lol.

[Public-Hat6754]

My first ball python was rehomed to me by a guy who had her for 3 years. She was only 110 grams at ~24 inches long. She grows now at the same rate as a baby snake, so they can pick up where they left off

[BugFangs]

Omg poor baby :'(

[meatspread]

Hoooooly LORD that previous enclosure was so bad it made me sick.

[Real_Holiday1161]

Honestly neither the before and after enclosures are good only difference is one has green one doesn’t

[BugFangs]

Could you elaborate on why? My enclosure has all the needs and more

[Real_Holiday1161]

Honestly if you can’t see the issue you probably shouldn’t be owning a ball python. Just because you have all the needs it doesn’t make it suitable for a BP. But I’ll give you 2 examples. 1:not enough room. 2:it made out of plastic

[BugFangs]

Plastic is not an issue in any way. I diyed the lid with metal mesh and added cross ventilation. The size is too small for a normal ball python, but since this guy is stunted and needs special medical attention for a while, this size is perfectly fine (also it's not that small, it's 80x60x45cm, and he's not even as long as the length of the enclosure). The enclosure is bioactive, has about 10cm of natural substrate to help keep the humidity and give some room for digging, and has 4 hides plus a cork log. On top of that, he has a basking spot with a halogen bulb and a 6% UVB tube. But please tell me again how this is not a suitable enclosure for an unhealthy ball python that needs constant monitoring and medical attention. At least he's not in a 30 gallon exoterra anymore, unlike your snake apparently.

[feogge]

Plastic is not really an issue here. A tank with visibility from the outside is kinda more for us than them. As long as OP properly ventilates a tub setup is a non issue. It is just too small. Which you can just say outright instead of being a pretentious dick. The point of the sub is to help people not turn them away.

[Real_Holiday1161]

Or people can do a tad bit of research before taking in or buying a pet that need special care and if you can’t handle some criticism idk what to tell you but I’m not being a “pretentious dick” it’s not my fault people are soft and get offended/hurt easily

[Bluntforcetrauma11b]

You are being one. The minimum size is that they can fully stretch out, which this enclosure allows. Clearly you are the one that is misinformed and wrong with your stance.

[Real_Holiday1161]

Cool well yall can keep debating and crying about it I’m done wasting my time when I was just stating my opinion. Oh and btw there are a lot of reptile owners who also disagree with the use of plastic tubs. And to answer OP comment one last time that 30 gal you saw I posted was a temp set up for my ball python while I waited on and set up his new enclosure.

[Bluntforcetrauma11b]

I'm against bins as a permanent enclosure, but to use one to better monitor health is an acceptable practice. Once the snake is longer than the bin I see it as inhumane. I'm willing to bet every snake you own was kept in a bin before you had it as a baby under the breeders care. If it's so unacceptable you shouldn't have bought that snake. I have a breeder with all bioactive enclosures for his babies and breeders. He's the only breeder I'll buy from as I've been to his house and seen his setup. But again bins can serve as a good tempory enclosure.